1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of particulate matter collection from discharge gases and more particularly to a multi-stage particulate matter collector that collects both electrostatically and with barrier filters.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known in the art how to build and use electro-static precipitators. It is also known how to build and use a barrier filter such as a baghouse. Further, it is known how to charge particles so that these charged particles may be collected in a barrier filter with lower pressure drop and emissions than uncharged particles collected at the same filtration velocity.
Prior art designs have been discussed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,493 (Krigmont), U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,818 (Miller), U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,580 (Chang), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,681 (Chang). Krigmont teaches a new precipitator electrode design/configuration, while the Miller and Chang deal with a combination of a precipitator or electrostatic augmentation and a barrier filter (fabric filter or a baghouse).
An electrostatic precipitator typically consists of two zones: 1) a charging zone where the dust or aerosol particles are charged, usually by passing through a corona discharge, and 2) a collecting zone where the charged particles are separated and transferred from the gas stream to a collecting electrode with subsequent transfer into collecting or receiving hoppers/bins.
The arrangement of these zones has led to two typical prior art precipitator design concepts: a conventional electrostatic precipitator where both zones are combined in a single-stage, and a so called two-stage design where the zones are separated.
Particulate matter found in waste gases from industry and power plants (hereinafter called by the generic term xe2x80x9cdustxe2x80x9d), can have various electrical resistance depending on temperature, humidity and other environmental factors. In particular, the resistance of fly ash depends on gas temperature, gas composition (especially moisture and sulphur trioxide), as well as various other coal or ash properties. Resistance is the result of a combination of surface and volume resistivity. Dust is considered to have high resistance when the particulate resistivity is over about 1011 ohm-cm. Dust is considered to have a low resistance when the particulate resistivity is lower than about 104 ohm-cm.
The electrostatic precipitation process, in the case of high-resistance dusts, results in some reverse ionization at the side of the collecting electrode at which the dust accumulates. As a result, positively charged dust particles may be released or formed by such reverse ionization, and naturally such positively charged particles are repelled from, and not attracted to, the positively charged dust-collecting surface. As the gas stream passes between the xe2x80x9cconventionalxe2x80x9d dust-collecting electrodes, particles which pick up a positive charge by reverse ionization near to a collecting electrode tend to move toward the next discharge electrode where they may pick up a negative charge. They may then move toward the collecting electrode where they may again pick up a positive charge, etc. The result is a zigzag motion where the particles are not collected.
In the case of low resistance dust, a somewhat similar process takes place; however, due to the entirely different phenomena. Low resistance dusts are known for a quick discharging; thus they would be repelled back into the gas stream almost instantly upon contacting the collecting plates, irrespective of their polarity.
Viewed as a statistical phenomenon, therefore as stated, particles of dust tend to move in a zigzag fashion between the plane of the discharge electrodes and the collecting electrodes spaced from them as the gas entrains such particles along the collecting path. The zigzag movement is a phenomenon which is associated with both high and low resistance dusts.
Because of the zigzag phenomenon, the effectiveness of dust collection is reduced, and the performance of a dust-collecting or dust-arresting assembly will be substantially lower for high or low resistance dusts than with dust with a the normal resistance range (particulate resistivity between 104 and 1011 ohm-cm).
Krigmont in U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,493 describes an electrostatic precipitator, which utilizes a unique electrode design that provides for separate zones for aerosol particles charging and collection. The dust collecting assembly is a system of bipolar charged surfaces that are constructed in such a way that they provide alternate separate zones for high-voltage non-uniform and uniform electrostatic fields. The surfaces of the electrodes allow combining the charging and collecting zones with non-uniform and uniform electric fields respectively in one common dust arresting assembly. The disadvantage of this design is that it is entirely electrostatic allowing some of the particulate matter to make it past all the electrodes without being collected, especially in the case of high and/or low resistance dust.
Barrier filters (known as baghouse filters) are an alternative to electrostatic collection. They are generally bags through which the gas is made to pass. Conventional designs can be categorized as low-ratio baghouses (reverse-gas, sonic-assisted reverse-gas, and shake-deflate) which generally operate at filtration velocities of 0.76 to 1.27 centimeters per second (1.5 to 2.5 ft/min), also defined as air-to-cloth ratio or volumetric flow rate of flue gas per unit of effective filter area (cubic feet of flue gas flow/min/square foot of filtering area), and high-ratio pulse-jet bag-houses which generally operate at 1.52 to 2.54 centimeters per second (3 to 5 ft/min). Bag-houses generally have very high collection efficiencies (greater than 99.9%) independent of flyash properties. However, because of their low filtration velocities, they are large, require significant space, are costly to build, and unattractive as replacements for existing precipitators. Reducing their size by increasing the filtration velocity across the filter bags results in unacceptably high pressure drops and outlet particulate emissions. There is also potential for xe2x80x9cblindingxe2x80x9d the filter bagsxe2x80x94a condition where particles are embedded deep within the filter and reduce flow drastically.
In a barrier filter, the particulate dust is collected on the outside surfaces of the bags while the flue gas passes through the bag fabric to the inside, where it exits through the top or bottom of the bags into a clean air plenum and subsequently out the stack. Cages are installed inside the bags to prevent them from collapsing during the normal filtration process. In pulsejet filters air nozzles are installed above each bag to clean the bag. By applying a quick burst of high-pressure air directed inside the bags, the bags are cleaned. This burst of air causes a rapid expansion of the bag and momentarily reverses the direction of gas flow through the bag, which helps to clean the dust off the bags.
Because of the small bag spacing and forward filtration through the two rows of bags adjacent to the row being cleaned, much of the dust that is removed from one row of bags is simply recollected on the adjacent rows of bags. Thus, only the very large agglomerates of dust reach the hopper after the burst of air through the bags. This phenomenon of redisbursion and collection of dust after bag cleaning is a major obstacle to operating prior art bag-houses at higher filtration velocities.
What is badly needed is a particulate collection system that has the high collection efficiency of a barrier filter along with the high filtering velocity of an electrostatic precipitator.
The present invention is a multi-stage particulate collector that can also be called an electrostatic precipitator even though it may also contain barrier filters.
A multi-stage collector assembly can be made up from discharge electrodes placed between oppositely charged (collecting) electrodes. Each of the discharge electrodes can form two zones: 1) a charging zone and a collection zone. This can be accomplished by using a sharp or pointed leading or trailing edge (or both) on the electrode. This edge can be formed as a discharging part by being provided with sharp edges or thorns where a corona discharge can be generated. The subsequent portion of the electrode can form a flat surface generally parallel to the collection electrodes to first, create a uniform electric field, and second, to form a collection surface for reversely polarized (charged) dust resulting from either reverse ionization (back corona) or purposely bipolarized dust. Charging takes place from a corona discharge at the leading and/or trailing edge of the discharge electrode.
The array can be made from a plurality of corrugated plates where the corrugations on pairs of adjacent plates form alternating wide zones and narrow zones (the distance between the plates in the narrow zones being less than in the wide zones). The dis charge electrodes can be located in the narrow zones and can simply be flat plates or shaped structures of various types. These plates or structures are elongated and generally run the length of the narrow zones in a lateral direction (which will hereinafter be called the vertical directionxe2x80x94it should be noted that it is not necessary that this direction be perpendicular to the earth for the functioning of the invention; rather any direction will work). The gas flows between pairs of these corrugated plates horizontally, perpendicular to the vertical elongated direction of the electrodes (from the end, the gas flow around the electrode would resemble the 2-dimensional flow of air around an airplane wing). If a thicker structure is used as an electrode, a sharp or pointed leading or trailing (or both) edge can be provided as the actual discharge point.
The discharge electrodes can be followed by a barrier filter element located in the wide zone placed between the collecting electrodes along the flow and extending vertically. The barrier filter can be exposed to the direction of flow of the gas, and parallel to the collecting electrodes which are plates. The discharge electrodes and barrier filter elements between each pair of plates can lie in a planar array so that the plane of the array is parallel to the direction of flow of the gas stream and to the collecting electrodes. According to the invention, the surface of the barrier filter can be made conductive.
The corrugated plates are held at a first electrical potential while the discharge electrodes and the conductive surface of the barrier filter are held at a second electrical potential. There is generally a high potential difference or voltage between them. Both the flat sides of each of the discharge electrodes and the surfaces of the barrier filter elements form collecting surfaces where the electric field is relatively uniform.
The surfaces of the conductive barrier filters are formed with electric field forming parts that may be suitably rounded and convex in the direction of the plate collecting electrode. As stated, the corrugated plate collecting electrodes are formed with xe2x80x9cflatxe2x80x9d (narrow) and xe2x80x9croundxe2x80x9d (wide) sections to accommodate both the discharge electrodes and barrier filter elements. Even though they are being described as xe2x80x9cflatxe2x80x9d, their surfaces may be curved. It should be noted that it is preferred to use barrier filters with electrically conductive surfaces; however, it is also within the scope of the present invention to use non-conductive barrier filters with all electrostatic collection taking place predominantly in the narrow zones. Even in this case, because the bags are under relatively lower or ground potential, a portion of dust may be still collected on charged corrugated plates in wide zones as well.
By using an electrode with a cross-section that is relatively wide and thin, a uniform electric field can form in the region of the center of the electrode, and a non-uniform field of high intensity can form at the sharp leading and/or trailing edge. At sufficiently high field strength in this non-uniform field region, a corona discharge can take place between the electrode and the plates acting as an ion charging source for dust particles passing through it. The center region of uniform field on the other hand acts in a manner similar to the field between parallel capacitor plates with charged dust particles collecting on the plates.
More specifically, the dust particles near the corrugated arresting or collecting plate electrode which have been charged to a positive polarity by the positive ions resulting from reverse ionization are conveniently collected by the uniform field-forming part of the discharge electrode. Meanwhile, the dust particles around the discharge part (i.e. in the region of the corona-generating means) which are charged to negative polarity are caught by the collecting electrode. The foregoing assumes that the plate collection electrodes be at a relatively more positive (opposite) polarity than the discharge electrodes. Alternate polarities and AC sources are within the scope of the present invention.
The spacing between the discharge points (corona sources) and collecting surfaces are different, wider in the charging or corona generating zones and narrow in the collecting ones where a uniform high voltage electric field is required. This feature allows for the use of a single high voltage power source for all electrostatic fields (in all zones). A high voltage electric field of an adjustable (variable) frequency and/or alternating polarity could also be applied to the dust arresting assembly to further improve collecting efficiency of bipolar charged aerosol onto the surfaces of both plates, thus, substantially increasing the effective collecting area. It should be noted that even though the preferred method is to use a single voltage power source, it is within the scope of the present invention to use multiple voltage power sources.
The zigzag flow of dust particles attributable to reverse ionization is greatly limited, and the performance of the dust-arresting assembly is significantly improved so that high resistance dusts with which reverse ionization is a particular problem, are intercepted with high efficiency.
The present invention can be broadly summarized as a system in which multiple stages are utilized, with each stage performing a primary function, and the multiple stages operating synergistically to provide significantly improved overall results.
The principal objective of the present invention is to substantially improve fine particulate collection by combining both electrostatic charging/collection and filtration processes, not only by separating zones for particle charging and collecting, but, by providing a new unique collector design with improved efficiency to collect high resistance fine dust particles.
The present invention utilizes an upstream stage comprised of a generally conventional electrostatic precipitator apparatus of the type utilizing a series of corona generating points and accompanying collector plates followed by a downstream zone comprised of the generally parallel surfaces creating uniform electric field, followed by yet another stage which incorporates barrier filter the conductive surfaces of which provide a generally uniform electric field. In this manner, although all zones can be powered by a single power source, each can be designed to generally independently control electric field at an appropriate level. Moreover, by providing continuously repeated stages in series, the downstream zones effectively charge and collect the particles that are either uncollected or re-entrained and collect those particles after they have been charged.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an improved multi-stage collector apparatus, comprising of an ion generating means for introducing unipolar ions into the gaseous effluent, a means for generating a uniform electric field in the regions between the flat surfaces, and the barrier filter means where the medium is flowing through its porous surface. The barrier filter can be made of a conductive porous fabric or ceramic to create yet another zone of uniform electric field. The fabric itself can be conductive, but more likely there is either a conductive surface on the fiber, or conductive fibers (such as carbon) are embedded or entwined in the fiber.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-stage collector apparatus wherein the xe2x80x9cuniform-fieldxe2x80x9d regions have a high uniform electric field and wherein the ion current density in the xe2x80x9cuniform-fieldxe2x80x9d regions can be sufficiently small to control back corona without any penalty in the reduction of the average field and still be sufficient to hold collected particles to the collecting plates prior to removal of the particles from the collecting plates.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved collector apparatus, which incorporates an ion generating means and uniform electric field generating means that have an improved corona discharge apparatus within it.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved multi-stage collector apparatus that includes a downstream region that utilizes an improved barrier filter means which with the collector apparatus achieves superior operating results in terms of power efficiency and overall fine particle removal from the gaseous medium.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel means for reducing back corona in localized areas within precipitating apparatus of the above type.
A further objective of this invention is to provide an improved multi-stage collector design, which avoids the problems of earlier systems and allows for increased efficiency in removal of sub-micron dusts and aerosols with reduction of required collecting surface.